Dear readers,
Lung Foundation Australia has made some small but important changes to our brand. We have made these changes in an effort to better meet the needs of our different communities, including patients, health professionals, the wider community, policy makers and funders. Our approach to this brand refresh has focused on evolving and contemporising the Lung Foundation Australia brand in a way that we hope will resonate with both current and new stakeholders. Importantly, we have aimed to stay true to our heritage, honouring the original leaf concept developed by our inaugural Chairman, Professor Geoff McLennan.
Our refreshed logo design and messaging will provide a strong, relevant brand for patients, health professionals and researchers to stand behind. We have also done this work with an eye to minimising expense and wastage. We will, therefore, transition the new look gradually across resources and materials as and when they require updating. We hope you will welcome our new look.
Lung Foundation Australia advocating for people with a lung condition
As I write this, I am preparing for two important meetings with health policy makers. We have organised two round table discussions with the Federal Department of Health and the Victorian Department of Health to identify how we can better meet the needs of our patient populations. Key opinion leaders working across lung diseases will participate in these important discussions. I will report on the results of these meeting in our next newsletter.
As many in the lung cancer community are aware, the November meeting of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) will be considering the applications for four new lung cancer medicines to be subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We have encouraged those of you affected by lung cancer to participate in the consumer consultation process run by the PBAC. Lung cancer still lags behind other cancers in treatment options and as new, effective medicines emerge, we must advocate for early and affordable access.
In other news, Lung Foundation Australia recently commissioned a consumer survey, which confirmed what many of us already know – the stigma surrounding lung disease has a devastating impact on the level of funding, research and support available to people living with a lung condition. It found many are quick to lay blame without empathy, prompting a call for greater understanding to break down the barriers to action. The results were recently released for the first time at the Parliamentary Friends of Lung Health event at Parliament House on Monday 23 October which was attended by politicians and key opinion leaders to mark the launch of Lung Health Awareness Month in November.
This year, Lung Health Awareness Month will focus on the stigma surrounding lung disease and the devastating impact it has on the level of funding, research and support available to people living with a lung condition. You will read in this edition about the activity that is taking place around the country and how you can get involved in World COPD Day, International Lung Cancer Awareness Month and Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month.
As this will be my last message for 2017, I will take the early opportunity to wish you all the best for the holiday season and 2018.
Kind regards,
Heather Allan